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title: "Steep Learning Curve"
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<p class="publish_date">26 Mar 2012</p>

<p>Steep Hills are hard to climb. Things which are difficult to learn are often said to have a "steep learning curve." This is a misnomer but I may be fighting a losing battle.</p>

<p>Learning curves are drawn with proficiency on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. Learning isn't automatic so it might help to think of time as "time and effort spent on learning".</p>

<p>A good example to internalize how a learning curve works is to imagine learning a foreign langauge. At first you just learn phrases and vocabulary words. After a while you are able to use more and more of what you learn - soon you'll be recognizing patterns which will help you become more proficient faster. After a few years (or decades!) you'll run out of things to learn.</p>

<img src="/images/learning-curves.jpg" style="width:426px;height:260px;border:solid 9px #e3e3e3;" />

<p>The orange curve represents the learning curve for something that can be learned quickly. It is steeper than the other curves because proficiency increases more quickly.</p>

<p>While I consider the phrase "steep learning curve" to be a technical misnomer I'm afraid it's usage is so common that it is too late for a fight.  I may as well be trying to get people to use the word "virtual" to mean "actual."</p>